1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to information handling systems and more particularly to a carrierless drive assembly for use with information handling systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
It is known to provide information handling systems with drive assemblies via which drives, such as hard disk drives (HDDs) or solid state drives (SSDs), are coupled to and incorporated into the information handling system. One issue relating to known drive assemblies is that drive carriers (also sometimes referred to a drive cages) are often necessary to mount the drive in the chassis of the information handling system. A relatively large portion of the effective volume of the chassis of the information handling system is consumed with this carrier. Additionally, known drive carriers are often implemented to include a plurality of discrete parts. These discrete parts can include a drive support portion, a latching mechanism, and a release mechanism. Additionally, known drive carriers may have difficulty controlling a wide range of retention force between the drive and the drive carrier due to a required balance tradeoff between an insertion friction and a retention force. Thus, for a drive carrier having a high retention force, the insertion friction may be so high as to make insertion of the drive not feasible.